Wut Berlin – AW 2013-14 Collection – New Religion

Omotesando boutique Wut Berlin’s bi-annual fashion shows are always a good chance to see some of the best international and Tokyo based underground designers in a rare catwalk setting, but for the AW 2013-14 selection the head buyer and stylist of the show Yann Le Goec went well beyond that brief to identify a common thread flowing through global fashion right now. Themed “New Religion” the show was an iconoclastic visual assault of digitally derived imagery, clashing textures and glitching structures, which all built to the state of half aware passive engagement at an influx of information, briefly punctuated with moments of clarity that defines the digital experience. Yann styled the show busily, barely letting you take in each look before it sped off, a feature that was unintentional in the previous Wut Berlin shop space where the shows used to be held, but in this presentation, the runway was moved to a much larger venue in Aoyama which finally gave him a chance to spread his wings.

Join us for a chronological look through the show and keep your eye out for Tokyo Telephone favorites Bodysong, Balmung and Runurunu.

You might not recognise it but the hooded jacket here is actually from Bodysong, I for one love the chunky wooden toggles that subvert probably the most conservative fastener in fashion.

The iconoclastic attitude to religion came across well through the headwear that was occasionally serious, but by equal turns took shapes with gravitas and rendered them out of trash bags, cans and even dried pasta.

I particularly liked the contrast in the headpiece of the above as well as the beautiful Anntian dress that looked like the print was being projected right on to it as it moved.

You should recognise this outfit as Runurunu, who is moving into ever darker territory at present, but never far from his tortured Tetsuo-inspired roots.

Bodysong venturing into the world of knits, making the same digital glitch shapes out of wool that he usually prints.

Both the knitted pieces in the two shot above are produced with Rurumu, which just goes to show that Rurumu is capable of a much darker style beyond the hyper kawaii style she made her name with.

On to the male fits from Bodysong.

It was also great to see the familiar faces modeling in the show, Sioux (above) being a perfect ambassador for the Wut Berlin universe.

Sadak’s output for the show was looking very different from his previous collection, but the semi-religious shrouding peppered with sports imagery fitted the theme perfectly.

Daniel Palillo provided us with a some moments of cartoony stark clarity mid-show.

Balmung paired with Daniel Palillo.

A complete Balmung outfit featuring the key trash bag jacket from the incoming season – so many of my friends have ordered these.

Rene Gurskov is always a big hitter in Tokyo street fashion and this season his subversive cuteness fits in perfectly with the mood of the moment.

Roberto Piqueras leading the way in deconstructing the iconography of the digital age.

This alien print is actually Wut Berlin’s own, it is high time the shop had its own line, and this alien god is where it starts.

The show ended with a storm of Tata Christiane designs which show her at the top of her game as far as I am concerned.

There you have it, a new religion for the tumblr generation in all its self-deprecating glory. It was so great to see all these designers from all over the world brought together in one place so that Yann could draw the dots between them all and leave you feeling that no matter how extreme the parts are, that the sum makes sense and needs to be worn.

If you are in Tokyo then you can actually see the samples from the show in the Wut Berlin shop starting next week, and if you are outside Japan then remember that their online shop here ships internationally.